Gas Shock Fix

[David Schwertner]

The screws that hold the bracket for one of my gas shock pistons which holds up my basement door has stripped out and was wondering what would be a good fix for this problem. Some rigs I saw have a steel plate applied with liquid nails and then attached to the door with rivits and the screws are reapplied for the shock brackets. I have a 2008 36 TK3.
The doors have a foam middle and a really thin plywood front and back.
Any other fixes would be appreciated.

[Motor31]

You have already seen the fix the factory applied to the units. That is what my rig came equipped with. Other than that I am not sure what else you could do. The door is pretty flimsy for the shock tension.

I baby my doors on opening hoping to delay the eventual rebuild as long as possible.

[bstark]

I spent one winter in Yuma performing that exact repair to a number of Doubletree trailers in the park. Along with re-attaching the bedroom heat ductwork and replacing the broken drawer latches I probably did the mobile repair guy's out of a lot of income. I drank for free almost the entire winter stay, haaar.

[47hook]

I had the same problem and my fix has lasted for 3 years. I went to Home Depot and purchased several flat zinc coated plates that are about 3x4" in size and covered with small holes. Plates are in the lumber dept and used to connect 2 boards together. I then bought a box of small self taping screws of the appropriate lenght and some epoxy glue. Glued the plate to the door (after removing the original plate and hinge & glue) Rivited the plate to the aluminum frame and then screwed the plate to the door using about 20+/- screws. Waited 24 hrs and reattached the hinge and epoxied it also. After a while, the strut looses some of its strength and puts less strain on the hinge.

Like I said, has lasted for 3+ years...good luck.

[David Schwertner]

An RV tech this morning told me to try using the steel electric box plates that you can purchase at Home Depot etc. They are about a 4x4 inch plate. Some people refer to them as switch box plates. Drill several holes into the plate and screw it into the door.
Sounds like a great idea to me!

[Gemstone]

I wish DRV would engineer a retrofit of "french doors" to replace that huge storage door, held up by 2 cheesy gas struts, with nothing substantial to support them. New Horizons has apparently figured out how to do it. My door needs repair as well....lemme guess is the damaged side on your rig closest to the entry door ?

Regards
Gemstone

[billr]

An RV tech this morning told me to try using the steel electric box plates that you can purchase at Home Depot etc. They are about a 4x4 inch plate. Some people refer to them as switch box plates. Drill several holes into the plate and screw it into the door.
Sounds like a great idea to me!

David,

Thats exactly what I used and did all the doors. Also installed some 90 degree brackets at the same time to stiffin it all up. Used RTV under the plate and used large rivets. Still strong after 4yrs.

Bill

[RonS]

Bill - what is RTV, that you used under the plate?

[Gemstone]

"Thats exactly what I used and did all the doors. Also installed some 90 degree brackets at the same time to stiffin it all up. Used RTV under the plate and used large rivets. Still strong after 4yrs."

Bill, could you post a couple of photo's of your repair ? And the "RTV" (Room Temperature Vulcanizing)...exactly what product did you use ?

Regards
Gemstone

[Gemstone]

Well, OK....I started the project...bought the 4x4 electrical plate...started fitting that in place...decided against it...I think it's too thin and not large enough...so I'm off in search of 3/16" or 1/4" aluminum stock...maybe 6x6 or 6x8. The plywood core of the door has been compromised by several attempts to just drill new holes for new screw positions, and is no longer sufficient to hold new screws...thus the larger plate, thick enough to provide holding power for the screws. As for the adhesive, I'm still waiting for feedback on the proper type to use. It appears that the factory did use the RTV...it is a silicone based product that does adhere very well to the vinyl on the inside of the door...all that remains is to find the product...

Regards
Gemstone

[Gemstone]

It's no wonder those flimsy factory provided plates rip off of the door...the door is nothing more than foam skinned with a thin layer of cheap a$$ luan plywood...it's a wonder it lasted a year....

Got my 6x8, 3/16" aluminum plates...gonna epoxy them on and use new screws just to hold the plate in place while the epoxy dries. The vinyl that covers the inside of the door is securely glued to the luan, so it should be safe to epoxy the aluminum to the vinyl. We'll see.

Regards
Gemstone

[RonS]

Let us all know how your fix has worked out. Seems like we all are having the same problem.

[Gemstone]

I'm just doing one side at a time, and I am going to allow the adhesive to cure for at least a week before I re-attach the arm and bracket...stay tuned.

I'm convinced that the vinyl skin on the inside and the gelcoat on the outside play a huge part in the overall strength of the door...there was sure nothing in between of any structural integrity...

Regards
Gemstone

[Motor31]

The walls of the rig are really no better, just thicker and depend on the frame to hold everything together.

[Jack in Alaska]

I also had problems with the original aluminum plates bending, then tearing off the storage doors.
Mine were repaired/replaced by my selling dealer using parts (steel plates) supplied from the factory. This was done in 2006 and are still solid. The adhesive used is SIKAFLEX. That is some extremely tough stuff.
The factory supplied me with all of the plates, shocks, hardware and screws to put gas shocks on the front storage door under the overhang. A big plus for me.
I also replaced all of the shocks with "weaker" models to lessen the stress on the mounting points. They hold up the doors w/o problem.

[Gemstone]

Thanks for posting Jack...I still have one side left to glue, so I'll try either the Sikaflex 292 or the Sikafast 3121.

Regards
Gemstone

[Gemstone]

OK, one side done, will try the Sikafast on the other side tomorrow.

The plate is 6"x8"x3/16" aluminum....holes are tapped for 1/4/20x1/2" machine screw.

Pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/goodwinfarm/RVCargoDoor?authkey=Gv1sRgCIOG9_qEs8XK1AE#

Regards
Gemstone

[Jack in Alaska]

Gemstone,
I hope those aluminum plates are shookum enough to take the stress from the shocks. My alum. plates distorted badly as well as pulling loose.
The steel plates have held up fine.
One of the secrets is to NOT let the door slam down and shut w/o holding on to it. That sudden shock is what buggers up the plates.
Good luck.

Jack

[Gemstone]

Hey Jack....I'm not too worried about the aluminum plate, 3/16 is pretty stout, I'm more concerned about the epoxy that I used on that side. I feel better about using this product: http://www.sikaconstruction.com/pds-ipd-sikafast3121-us.pdf.
Now I just need to find it. There is a distributor here in Denver...I'll see if they have it in stock tomorrow.

Regards
Gemstone

[David Schwertner]

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a tube of Heavy Duty Liquid Nails and a 4x4 STEEL electric switch plate and apply with 5/8 inch long # 10 self tapping screws. That is how I fixed mine and are holding fine.
The Liquid nails compound will bond great to the doors after it cures out.
Thanks,
David

[Gemstone]

I guess those of us with the cheesy gas strut factory aluminum plate on the large cargo door should be grateful...I had an opportunity to look at a used high end 2010 Elite $uites today, and no plate was used....the same old strut bracket is screwed directly to the door. Guess if they were smart engineers, they would have had some structural material formed into the interior of the door to hold the screws....wonder if they did...?

Regards
Gemstone

[David Schwertner]

Gemstone, At the SOITC Rally last month in Colorado DRV had three new trailers on display. The basement doors now have a steel plate imbedded into the core of the door, thus nothing shows except the strut and bracket. Nice clean look if it will hold up.

[Gemstone]

"The basement doors now have a steel plate imbedded into the core of the door"...

Just confirmed by Ryan Miller at DRV:

"Yes, the doors have been modified with a steel backer about the size of the plate you have in your picture only inside the door.
(on models with the external plate) We use SikaFlex 252 on the plates before we rivet".

Regards
Gemstone